^.-r^ 
XIV 
THE LAST STALK OF THE SEASON 
It was the last day of the stalking season in the 
forest of Fealar, where it had been my good 
fortune to spend the first ten days of October. 
I had been out stalking for eight days, during 
two of which I did not get a shot, but, with the 
exception of the preceding day, which had been 
a black Friday for me, I had been very lucky, 
having shot eight stags, and three of these I had 
stalked without the aid of a stalker, which had 
added greatly to my pleasure. But it was a 
melancholy fact that the last day had arrived, and 
what had it in store for us ? On the preceding 
day I had had a series of misfortunes, and when 
I got up and looked out of my bedroom window 
the prospect was not a cheery one. A thick 
170 
